


In another Time

by Dandelly



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:53:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22532029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dandelly/pseuds/Dandelly
Summary: The city of Tiefall lies on the edge of the well-known provinces and is, therefore, the last bastion before the murderous no man's land. Its inhabitants from all sorts of folks try to survive in the resource-poor environment as well as possible, with the wish to build a self-sufficient life there.But gradually their numbers seem to be dwindling as something lurks outside the safe walls for careless travelers at night. Only bloody scraps are found on the street days later.The young Doctor Bashir travels to the distant city to escape his own shadow and find a new future for himself, but whether he will stay alive long enough to see this future is another question entirely.Doctor!Julian and Monster!Garak
Relationships: Jadzia Dax/Kira Nerys, Julian Bashir/Elim Garak, Odo/Quark (Star Trek)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14
Collections: Starfleet Gang





	In another Time

Exhausted, the young man pushed the mask off his head and breathed in a whiff of fresh air.

Although he could feel Thomas's disapproving look on him, he allowed himself this one careless moment, before he tied the bird-like mask over his face again. Immediately, the herbal odor within, rose up again invading his nose, making him sick and forcing up a choked sound.  
As helpful as the scent was, while they were traversing the fields of death, the young Doctor couldn't help but find it deeply disgusting while away from the rotting corpses.   
With the herbal smell always came the feeling of anxiety and the pictures of the mutilated, left-behind corpses from the last battle. So, he couldn't help but shiver.

A looming presence beside him tore him out of his thoughts.  
Thomas had steered his horse next to him and wordlessly pointed down the hill to the battlefield they had just left behind. The sun had not even set, but the scavengers already went to work.  
Unscrupulous opportunists who took the trouble of following plundering armies and relieving the almost still warm bodies of their belongings.  
Unbeknownst to them, they did not have much time before larger predators would come to take their prize. 

At the sight of this, the young doctor restrained his horse angrily, wanting nothing more than to ride back down the hill and confront the scavengers, but Thomas stopped him.   
For a few seconds, they stared at each other through the lenses of their masks before Thomas sighed and revealed his face.  
Calm, green eyes looked out of an emotionless surface, single laugh lines traitors of a better time. "We had this discussion already last week! You must contain yourself and get used to seeing this happen." Thomas murmured resignedly.   
As expected, however, his young colleague was unwilling to drop the subject and angrily pulled down the plague mask. His brown curls were twisted wildly, framing his haggard face and giving the look from his brown eyes a desperate nuance.   
Yet, before he could speak, Thomas, who could muster no energy for further discussion, interrupted him.

"Julian!" He hissed, "I do NOT want to hear about it now!"  
A hurt look crossed Julian’s eyes as he slightly flinched away.  
To reduce the harsh tone a little, Thomas tried to console his colleague: "We can’t do anything here anymore, so let's get going."  
Without waiting for a response, he pulled his plague mask back on and steered his horse towards Tiefall, where they would hopefully spend a quiet night.

Julian threw one last, bitter look down into the valley and mentally cursed the thieves, who had descended upon the deceased before he steered his horse on the path towards the city.  
He did not put his mask back on.

* * *

Down in the valley, a young boy was counting the passing time, while repeatedly glancing back and forth between the distant shape of his father and the setting sun.  
Nervously he started grinding his small, sharp-edged teeth and fiddled around with the already very loose buttons of his dirty jacket.  
He and his father weren’t the only “Opportunists” here, but they were the most experienced.  
Which, he thought, actually didn’t really say much, considering that hardly anyone lasted long enough to build something akin to a routine.

As if on cue, the boy’s bat-like ears picked up on a distant, low-humming hiss.  
A shiver ran down his spine and he immediately jumped down his spy post to save his and his father’s skin.  
“Father, Father!”  
When Rom saw his sun hectically crossing the field, two gears slowly clicked together in his head.  
He had instructed his son Nog, whom he loved dearly, to find a safe place and keep his ears open, while making sure they weren’t running out of time.  
But Nog had left his place and now ran towards him, wildly flailing his arms about.  
“Oh.” With a final snap, the implication of this potentially dire situation dawned on him, resulting in his body automatically picking up their loot and strapping it over his shoulders, while his mind was still berating whether to panic or not. 

When Nog finally reached his Dad, the survival instinct of his old man had eventually gotten the upper hand and together they hastily made their way to their steed, Vorti.  
There simply hadn’t been enough money for a proper horse, at least according to their boss, so he had gifted them – out of their own pension – a mini-version of this peculiar animal.  
Nog still hoped that it just wasn’t grown up yet and would, in the end, double in size.  
Anyway, to assure the safety of their involuntary investment, they had wisely tied it next to Nogs look-out. 

Vorti herself had spent her time peacefully grazing on the side-lines of the busy battlefield, bound to a gnarled, old tree and not having a care in the world.  
Well, that was until one of Rom and Nogs “colleagues” found her and claimed her as his property by untying and running away with her, while Nog had been warning his father of their impending doom.  
So now where previously a horse had been standing, only a dent in the ground was left of their – hence unfaithful – steed…  
As a result, Rom could feel a little bit, actually, a huge bit, of panic rising up and his voice broke hysterically as he addressed his son: “You were meant to look after Vorti!”  
“But I was also meant to tell you when I’d hear something!” Nog was predominantly beside himself with fear, but a smirch of indignation laced his voice as he spoke.

But there was no time for petty arguments, as another hiss prevented any further discussion and had them hauling ass.  
However, without Vorti, they would never be able to escape the looming menace, so their only chance of survival was hiding away.  
Rom and Nog's apparent agitation didn’t go unnoticed by their ‘comrades’, but before any of them could comment on it, a distant, high-pitched scream disturbed the calm evening, resulting in a widely audible panic to break out.  
Few wanted to part with their hard-earned loot, so the consequently following clatter and racket carried wide above the fields into the ears of every potential predator willing to listen. 

And listen they did, because only shortly thereafter the first ominous creature surfaced on top of the valley, to make sure their prey wasn’t escaping.

Nog and Rom, who had separated themselves untypically fast from their haul, rushed to a nearby lopsided carriage at the other end of the valley, which was slowly sinking into the mud.  
Desperate for a chance of survival they smeared themselves with heaps of foul-smelling sludge and hid deep inside the mire, as the foreboding shadows crept over the valley.

Everything that now followed could only be described as a bloodbath.  
Any hope of a successful escape was quickly crushed by the bloodthirsty monsters, who had already positioned themselves in a circle around the battlefield and – like a huge trawl – caught all those desperate enough trying to escape.  
The creatures would whip individual fugitives of their feet with their long and powerful lizard tails or simply beat them back down into the valley with powerful turns of their bodies.  
Snapping mouths shredded muscles and broke bones until only a bloody mass was left that once might have resembled a human and was now crawling along the floor, screaming in pain through broken jaws.  
The frenzied whinnying of horses and choppy cries of the escapees filled the air like a backdrop for the bloody sounds that soon resonated throughout the fields.

Those who ran were captured.  
Those who climbed the trees were cast back on the ground.  
And those who hid were tracked down and ripped from their shelters.

As he was trying to suppress the trembling of his limbs, Nog came to the realization that he and his father currently belonged in the last category.  
Even though he couldn’t _SEE_ the massacre currently taking place, his hearing was so finely developed that he could _HEAR_ all the bloody facets of it.  
And he knew that their hiding place would not protect them for much longer now, so to prevent them from ending up like the unfortunate victim a few feet away from them, they had to move.

But how could he persuade his father to continue crawling away?

The sudden crash of a body hitting the top of the coach and it – including Nog and Rom – subsequently sinking further into the mud below, seemed to do the trick for Rom.  
He didn’t need any further convincing that this was no longer the best place to persevere.  
Above them two of the lizard monsters were bickering over a captured prey, giving the two Ferengi enough noise to dig through the muck without being heard.

Despite the earth and water in their ears, the two could still rely on their hearing relatively well and thus carefully crawl around any larger sources of noise.   
However, they did not make much headway in the rain and blood-soaked rain.  
Over time Nog could feel his strength slowly leaving him, the cold biting at his limbs, his arms becoming heavy, but his father wouldn’t leave him behind. He embraced Nog’s upper body with one arm and pulled him further along to safety.  
They hadn’t yet come far when behind them the carriage was overturned by a massive force and landed again on its axis.  
The sudden noise almost startled Rom and Nog into rising up, but at the last moment, they could stop themselves from giving away their position.  
Frightened they ducked under a few roots in the mud.

Nog could not see much, yet he was sure that the lizard that had overturned the carriage was now trying to pick up his or his father's track. It stood there, bent forward, leaning on one long-clawed hand while the other hung in the air, almost akin to a strike.  
The ridged, scaly tail hissed from left to right behind it.

After what felt like an eternity it jerked its head up and turned to the other two lizards close by, those who had only minutes earlier quarreled over a human carcass.  
Its mouth opened ever so slightly, but Nog’s perfect hearing picked up on the single, quietly muttered word, nevertheless.

“Ferengi.”

Nog’s heart almost stopped beating then and there.

* * *

The Captain found her atop the old wall, as per usual these days.

Her worried gaze was turned towards the fields beyond the city gate, the fears, and hopes of the settlement carved into her hardened features.  
If there had been more strength left in him, he too would have stood here and faced the wide plain in anticipation, but his reserves were exhausted beyond their limits. And he still needed his last remaining energy for the lonely child waiting for him at home.  
So he just cleared his throat and saw it as progress that she at least turned her face to him, even if only for a brief nod, before she looked out again.

“It cannot take long now.” His voice was calm, open, a cautious offer to her.  
But she did not want his friendship, not this soon anyway.  
She snorted briefly, ready to chide him, but then thought better of it. Apparently, she did not want hostility either. Another progress then.  
“That’s what you’ve been saying for the past two days. The last raven arrived a week and a half ago when they were still ahead of schedule. We should have heard something from them long ago.”

Hesitantly he stepped into the vagrant space next to her and together they watched the lonesome road in the distance.  
Between them and the nearest city – Fernhaven - stretched a broad plain. It was partially interrupted by smaller hills, greenery in between the deadly swamp, which would lure many travelers into a false feeling of safety.  
During the day a well-trodden path became visible, serving as the main road for their supply lines, but at night, it vanished into the darkness.   
So, one could only hope to see a distant lantern giving notice of any incoming traveler, but this night, the horizon stayed dark and hostile.

Thoughtful Siskos eyes darted over the petite figure beside him.  
He didn’t know Major Kira for a long time, but his gut told him that she didn’t care for sugarcoated words and instead preferred an honest assessment of the situation.   
Even though he would never tell her, he suspected that she would get on well with his storekeeper O’Brien.

“You are right. Bareil is long overdue, the likelihood of something happening on his travels increases with every passing minute and as far as we know, the section between Fernhaven and Tiefall seems to be the target of kidnappings lately.  
Yet… right now, I simply cannot send my men on a search and possibly endanger them, if I don’t even know which direction to look for. But! I’ll order Cutter to send another pair of ravens to the last known location, maybe we’ll be luckier this time.”

Before she could interrupt him, he added: “I know you want to send your messengers but let us wait another night. On a-”  
This time however Kira could not contain herself and intervened: “One more night could be enough to bring the Vedek and his followers to the grave. We don’t even know if they ever reached Fernhaven.   
I don’t know how you humans handle a potential crisis like this, but we Bajorans become suspicious when other settlements refuse to answer us.”

Despite the harsh words, Sisko tried to keep his voice as warm as possible, when he continued: “Major, I’m as anxious as you are, but I can’t let that affect the decisions I make, lest I might regret them later or worse, get somebody heavily injured or even killed, because of my short sight.  
If you recall our previous discussion this afternoon. A trained Doctor is on his way to us and on his journey he will most likely have passed by Fernhaven, thus hopefully bringing us the information we need.”

He fell silent and the two stared at each other for a few seconds, Kira still upset and Sisko exhausted.  
This time Sisko could not stifle his impulse and in a weary moment he rubbed his hand over his face, a gesture he normally would try to hide, as to not give away his state of mind.  
Kira noticed the motion and somewhat guiltily realized how worn out the Captain looked.  
The last few days had certainly not been easy for him, considering how most of Tiefall relied on him and the city council.  
Maybe, just maybe, she had been too harsh to him.

So in a fit of comradery, Kira took one last look over the wall, before nodding to the man and saying: “Listen, the potential loss of the Vedek could throw my people back months and as you are probably well aware we can’t afford it right now.”  
Her facial expression relaxed a bit. “But I’d rather use this night for preparations instead of heedlessly rushing in. Let’s just hope your doctor and his news show up soon.”  
Her body language was still reserved, but now Sisko was able to sense a desire for a truce in her mannerism and gratefully accepted the chance.

“Then I will choose men to support you with your preparations.”

Kira’s mouth twitched slightly and if Sisko didn’t know it better, the smallest glint of a smile had crept into her mimic. She said her goodbyes and with a final nod, turned around to resolutely descend the stairs.  
For a few more seconds Sisko remained on top of the city gates, content to have averted a small diplomatic crisis and absorbed in the view of the valley beyond.  
The endless night had shrouded it in dense darkness, broken only by the occasional timid glow of the moon, surfacing between torn clouds.  
He could understand the Major better than she knew.

She wasn’t the only one, who had someone out there traveling the vastness of the province.

* * *

One Ferengi bartender watched curiously as the imposing figure of the human descended the steps of the wall and vanished into one of the adjacent barracks shortly thereafter. A large amount of these peculiar beings had made Tiefall their new home two months ago, resulting in Quark barely being able to save himself from their constant thirst for mediocre alcohol.   
This admittedly secure source of income made his greedy little heart beat happily, but he could feel an uncomfortable tugging in his ears.  
The existing forces had shifted, a circumstance that mostly didn’t occur without consequences.

A skilled Ferengi knew that he had to be mindful of his economic environment.

As he thoughtfully cleaned the jug in his hand – he had been rubbing the same one for five minutes already – his mind wandered to all the possible business ideas he had not yet exhausted.  
His attention, however, was quickly drawn back to his consistently thirsty customers and so he abandoned any thought he had about that stern Cap-Teyn.  
With renewed enthusiasm Quark threw himself back into the field, scurried from table to table, kept his ears (and wallet) open and eagerly served his visitors.

A good businessman always had to know what moved his clientele, so he usually spent the busiest hours in the bar itself, serving drinks and taking the orders, which in return had earned him a good reputation despite his semi-legal pursuits.  
Unfortunately for him, not everybody was as convinced of his good intentions as he would have liked and as luck would have it one of his “biggest” opponents had made himself comfortable in the woodworks of the old tavern.  
This rodent in specific was a tad larger than his peers, yet scampered through the building unseen and unfaced by natural needs such as hunger or thirst.

Today's goal was a couple of accounting records the rat had discovered during the previous foray but hadn’t had the time to fully study yet. This time however it was sure to find some condemning evidence.  
Schadenfreude flicked through the little animal like a surge of electricity and it dashed smugly across the roof beams towards the very next hole in the wall.

While the peculiar rat and the stingy bartender were doing their daily dance, a similarly unlikely couple had withdrawn themselves to one of the tables in the back of the tavern.  
A broad-shouldered, somewhat coarse-looking man with dirty blonde hair was just toppling down the rest of his ale in hopes of avoiding the angry look of his counterpart. A small, petite lady with hair as black as ravens feathers and piercing eyes.  
  
“Miles …” 

The man named Miles O’Brien shrugged his shoulders defensively, hoping to entirely disappear into his mug, but his wife Keiko didn’t let up.

“Miles, look at me”

It was rather rare for O’Brien to hide behind anything or from anyone in the camp. As the quartermaster and right-hand man of Captain Sisko, he not only had to make tough decisions every day but also confidently represent them. He had earned an unshakeable reputation as a no-bullshit type of guy who had no time for nonsense.  
So it was all the more amusing for the guests at the neighboring tables to see how this reputation slowly crumbled under the eyes of his wife.

Relenting Miles carefully put the mug down and tried to reach for his wife’s hand, which was resting in the middle of the table, but Keiko resolutely pulled her fingers back.  
“Keiko, honey, I don’t understand how this whole thing affects us.”

Uff.

Someone took a deep breath behind Miles.  
Annoyed, Keiko wiped a few strands of rogue hair from her face, ready to explain her position to Miles for the hundredth time.  
“Without the Bajorans we are only half a city. We need their expertise and manpower to keep his settlement alive. We cannot expect them to do everything in their power for the continuity of this city if WE are not willing to help them. Besides, they were here first.”

Keiko had spent the afternoon listening to her colleague and friend Rokan, a Bajoran who recounted his laments to her in great detail, making it only fair that Miles had to listen to that too.  
However, she largely shared Rokan's opinion.

Miles was decidedly too tired for this discussion and just wanted to go home, ending the evening by putting his sunshine, Molly, in bed.  
“Keiko, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t help at all. But the Bajorans have to understand that the captain can’t just send men into the unknown. Neither Bajorans nor humans.  
Bareil knew what was to come when he started this journey and the Bajorans knew too. They can’t just throw logic into the wind, just because something goes wrong on this expedition. That happens all the time.”

From the fiery look on his wife’s face, he gleaned that he had made a mistake with the wording of that comment and so he quickly tried to backpaddle a little.  
“Can we maybe talk about this another time? Torben and Haroldsen did more damage than good today and I had to drag Almund to the Bajoran healer. I’m just done for today.”  
To undermine his point, he dropped back into his wooden chair quite dramatically and rubbed his, admittedly, red eyes.

The picture of the overworked man.  
Out of pity, Keiko decided to drop the argument for the time being and just shook her head, a bit peeved at Miles’ standard excuse.  
“Fine, as a matter of fact, it _was_ a really long day.”   
She let the ‘For me too’ float in the room unspoken, sure that Miles felt that sentiment.

Although Miles could sometimes be a bit strenuous, she did enjoy the evenings with him.  
Their personalities seemed to others like a clash of cat and dog, but Keiko and Miles were a well-coordinated team and their disputes were more a relief of frustration than anger at each other. That’s how they worked.  
They left their day at the porch and as soon as they entered the house it was all about their little family.  
Nonetheless, Keiko almost always knew when something rumbled inside the thick head of his and she was very grateful for the openness he showed towards her. It was a welcome change from the constant talking in circles some other loved ones would do.

On the other side, Miles was well aware that Keiko was his precious sunshine, a bright spot that he could follow in the darkest hours so as not to lose himself. He sometimes couldn’t understand what was keeping her, but his heart was racing for this woman and he would do anything for her.

As she reached for his hands know, part of his exhaustion melted away and he just enjoyed the warmth of her skin on his. Her calloused hands from the long hours in the gardens, the soft smell of earth surrounding her and the softest glint in her eyes.  
“Let’s put Molly to bed. We can still talk about it tomorrow.”  
A slightly pained expression shot across Miles’ face, followed by an apologetic smile, so Keiko decided to take it with humor.  
With a warm laugh, she pulled her beloved husband to her feet and then linked her arm under his.  
In seasoned togetherness, they left the busy tavern and walked home side by side, where the result of their love was probably traumatizing the babysitter.

* * *

Meanwhile, the dutiful rat had made its way from the roof structure into the actual tavern down below and was eagerly looking for a gap in the floor to get under the planks of the hall.   
It had to keep a careful eye on its surroundings so as not to accidentally end up in the profile of any of the various tenants of the bar.  
With an excited leap of its little ratty heart, the rodent became aware of the bartender Quark running into his direction. But the Ferengi seemed too busy with a particularly talkative adventurer who was known to the residents here only as Morn.  
Really, had the rat not known better, it would have believed that the stoutly built man was putting the moves on the Ferengi.

Not that the rat was interested in that kind of gossip in any way.  
It gave a short, rather deep squeak, then continued to search for an entrance to the planks.  
When it finally found a hole in the ground, it squeezed its elongated body through and hurried as fast as its little, delicate paws could take it to the place, where it had seen the accounting books the last time. 

Upon arriving, however, it noted with a deep annoyance, that there was nothing left but dust and dirt.  
Indignant the rodent sniffed where it had last seen the books and, to its surprise, came across a small piece of paper.  
Maybe something had fallen out of them when Quark hastily took them out of their concealment.  
Although it was a bit difficult at first, the rat soon managed to take the small piece of paper in its paws, now able to unfold it.  
A few seconds later the note lay open on the floor and the rat curiously bent over a few distinct words written in the middle of the paper.

* **Maybe next time**.*

It is usually difficult to understand what rats and any small animals of that notion may be saying, but some, very strong emotions overcome any language barrier.  
In any case, the long squeak that now left the little rodent seemed to reverberate with an incredible range that startled all its conspecifics around.

Up in the bar, a pleasant shiver went through Quark as his sensitive ears picked up on the extremely angry screech beneath him.

* * *

Down in the valley, a shiver also went through Rom, but his was freezing cold and stinging with panic.  
He had lost sight of Nog and had to restrain himself to not burst into tears.  
One moment they slid through the mud together, the next he felt a violent jerk and his son was gone.  
He had tried to turn around, startled, but couldn’t come to a halt in the slippery mire and so he involuntarily continued sliding down the hill.  
Fear and grief gripped at his heart and drowned out every thought of survival.

How could he ever go on without Nog?

Disoriented he trudged through the mud, protected from the eyes of the roaming lizards only by sheer luck.   
While searching for his son, his right hand, clenched, could still feel the warmth of his son.  
Images flashed through his head and a distant memory crystallized. A reminder of much smaller hands clasping one of his fingers.

  
He wanted to shout, but his tears stifled his voice and he trembled to the floor.  
When was the last time he felt such an all-encompassing pain?  
Waves of grief shot through him as he remained there, sinking into the mud, surrounded by dirty water and earth.  
At the edge of his consciousness he could make out hissed words, but without Nog the had no meaning to him.

* * *

They circled the hill.

And the next one.

And the next one.

Julian put his head back and sighed loudly.  
It seemed like forever ago that Thomas had announced that were nearing the city and chances were high of making it past the safe walls by midnight.  
Judging from the advanced position of the moon, however, he had made a mistake.  
They were somewhere in the middle of nowhere, alone on a well-trodden path that could hardly be called a road. In all likelihood they probably got lost.  
As much as Thomas seemed to know about anatomy, his sense of direction was abysmal, and Julian cursed himself for not paying closer attention to their surroundings. 

The darkness enveloped them like a blanket, their lantern the only light source far and wide.  
Not even the moon seemed to have mercy on them, opting instead for stubbornly hiding behind the thick clouds on the firmament.  
Far in the distance, numerous eerie sounds echoed over the hilly landscape, only slightly resembling animal calls. To Julian’s dismay, it seemed as if they were following them, wherever they went.  
He suddenly realized how long they had been traveling in this unreal area already and so the young doctor urged his horse forward slightly until he rode right next to Thomas and gave him a tired smile.  
“Should we maybe ask someone for directions?” He remarked sarcastically (but not unkind) to cover up his growing insecurity.

There was an uncomfortable silence in which Thomas slowly turned towards Julian and looked almost disappointed over the rim of his glasses.

No further reaction was necessary.

They continued to trot side by side.  
“You know …”, Julian started innocently while pointing at a nearby stone to their right, which had just appeared at the edge of their lantern’s lightcone.  
“I think I’ve seen this rock somewhere before. But where? Hmmm.” He lightly patted his chin, as if lost in deep thought.  
Before he could say anything however, Thomas raised his voice in apparent agitation.

“Probably because we’ve already passed it. If you had been more careful, you might have noticed this mistake the last two times, but since you prefer to keep your head in the clouds, it simply went right past you.”

Oh.

“Yes Julian, I may not know, where we have to go, but I at least try to find the right way and don’t just hope others will do that for me.”

The young doctor grimaced and ducked away apologetically.  
He truly hadn’t expected such a strong reaction.  
Once again he hadn’t considered what the situation might be like for Thomas, who not only had to guide himself but also his inexperienced colleague to Tiefall.  
Through an area that had recently made a name for itself due to the travelers that vanished into thin air (and oftentimes only left behind bloody clothing.)  
Julian was aware that his carelessness was a recurring problem that he would have to work on sooner than later. But right now, he was just ashamed of himself and knew that an apology was in order. Yet something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

From the field to their left, a faint glow moved towards them in a somewhat bobbing manner, as if it was floating freely in the dark.  
Thomas looked over at Julian, but the sight of his colleague’s jaw dropping turned his attention to the left as well.  
Now they both stared at the field in confusion,

The light continued to bob in their direction, the up and down motion always flowing smoothly and thusly giving it a kind of hypnotic effect. A sight from which the two could not tear themselves away.  
Both of them remembered the rumors of wispy lights that lured unsuspecting travelers into the deathly swamps to drown there and to then take the souls of the freshly deceased with them.  
In one of those dark and old taverns, Thomas had once even heard of a giant monster that attracted lonely hikers to a light source on its body, only to then devour them alive with one single bite.  
Cold sweat formed on his back, all the while he kept trying to get his legs moving.

Up and down, the dull light came toward them, up and down.

But then, suddenly, the light tipped forward, seemingly tumbling to the ground and the sound of muffled cursing blew across the field, not quite befitting of the unearthly atmosphere from seconds ago.  
Confused the two men looked at each other until Julian’s nature as a doctor caught up with him and he hurriedly got off his horse to see if somebody was injured.  
Quickly Thomas shot forward and hold on to the Doctors arm, keeping him from trudging into the field.

“Wait.”

He rummaged briefly in one of his saddlebags and then pulled out a small gun whose barrel pulsed gently in the dark. With a click he activated the loaded opal inside, making the weapon ready to fire.  
Then he nodded briefly at Julian and they left the street in the direction of the mysterious lantern in the field.

When they got closer, they realized that the light source was a simple oil lantern that had tumbled out of its holder's hand, during the fall. Said figure had risen up to its full height now and was looming outside the glowing radius of the lamp, currently knocking dirt off its clothes, by the look of its shadowy movement.  
Instead of paying attention to their own safety, Julian simply went straight to the stranger and carefully illuminated the person with the lantern.  
A masked figure emerged, hood pulled up and a mask over their nose.  
“Are you in pain? Does anything hurt in particular?”

In a typical medical routine, he watched the person’s movements closely and used the dim light to confirm that they were reacting without any signs of a concussion.  
A voice, subdued by the fabric around the mouth, answered with a laugh: “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I got tangled up somewhere when I wanted to walk over to you.”  
Without hesitation, the stranger pulled its hood down, thusly removing the cloth over their mouth. A grinning young woman emerged, her brown hair tied back casually, and her hand outstretched for Julian to shake.  
“Jadzia Dax!”

A little surprised by the admittedly beautiful sight in front of him, Julian floundered a bit until he was finally able to get his name out.  
“J-Julian Bashir! I am, eh, doctor. In training I mean. But still. Doctor.”  
He shook her hand excitedly. “But, uhm, you probably already thought so. I mean. The Doctor part, haha.”  
A flash of knowledge beamed across Jadzia’s blue eyes and she eagerly leaned over to Julian.  
“Dr. Bashir, nice to meet you! I’ve heard a lot about you. Really, a lucky coincidence that I meet you here of all places.”

Alarmed, Thomas stepped next to Julian and bought some distance between the enchanted Doctor and Jadzia.   
“Yes, really a *lucky* coincidence to meet a complete stranger here in the middle of the pampas, who seems to know a lot about you already.”

Finally, Julian’s alarm bells rang, certainly a bit too late, and he took a few steps back.  
He actually had to hold on to not panic. His past had shown only negative outcomes to encounters like these, because of his reputation.

But Jadzia quickly raised her hands and tilted her head slightly: “Don’t worry, I’m not here to kidnap someone or anything of that kind. I’m on my way to Tiefall at the request of an old friend. He wrote me a letter, telling me that he actually waited for two capable doctors to arrive at the city.”  
Julian breathed a sigh of relief and began talking again, but Thomas intervened. “Which friend?”  
Jadzia clearly sensed Thomas's uncertainty and distrust, saw his finger on the trigger of the gun, the way he kept his younger colleague behind him. It was clear that this situation could not be solved with sarcasm and simple humor.

She sighed inwardly.  
“His name is Benjamin Sisko. He probably introduced himself as one of the city councilors from Tiefall.”  
That at least seemed to calm the old man down a bit and he lowered his gun.  
“Then it seems, that we actually have the same goal”

Finally, the tension on his shoulders seemed to subside, which in turn calmed both Julian and Jadzia.  
Now Thomas also extended his hand to the seemingly young woman to shake hers surprisingly vigorously.  
“Thomas Rhye. I’m accompanying Dr. Bashir to Tiefall to continue to support him during his training. Although the circumstances were a bit unusual, I am happy to make your acquaintance.”  
A slight grin stole its way back on Jadzia’s lips and she nodded in agreement at Thomas.  
“Well, it’s hardly commonplace to find a lonely traveler in a wild field, far away from the main road.”

Together they stomped back to the street, completely forgetting the silence of the night, while Julian started to pester his new associate. But much to Thomas’ pleasure, she always seemed to be able to dodge his questions with a quick joke on her lips, apparently experienced with advances from talkative, young men.

When they got back to the horses, Julian wasn’t really any smarter than before, but that didn’t stop him from bothering her further.  
Mercifully, Thomas interrupted his friend yet again – it seemed to become a habit by now – and asked Jadzia for help instead.  
“I’m afraid, we lost the right way. A young woman, who can maintain her course far away from the roads, deep in the night, might surely know where we took the wrong turn?”

Jadzia immediately recognized the subtle question lingering but didn’t want to reveal all of her cards just yet, so she decided on a little white lie.  
“I followed one of those new-fashioned, magical compasses that you can get in Kummerbach. At first, I was a little skeptical, but in the end, I actually could use Siski’s letter to link the device to his person and now hopefully, it will guide me conscientiously to Tiefall.”  
The two doctors now watched with interest, as she took out the inconspicuous compass from one of her pockets. It looked like any other compass and another magical person would have seen through Jadzia’s bluff right away, but since humans mostly didn’t even notice, when they were getting enchanted, chances were high they believed most lies about magic, you told them.

Same in this case.

She couldn’t help laughing a bit when Julian nodded knowingly and congratulated her on her excellent purchase. “A great piece of technology. You can almost feel the magic radiating from it! If we have had something like that, we probably wouldn’t have run in circles five times.”  
“Well, now you have me, so the rest of the journey should be free of further mistakes. At least if Benjamin doesn’t spontaneously decide to leave the city.”  
Thomas gently pushed Julian to his horse, waited for him to saddle up and then joined him on its back. He then pointed towards his own horse and nodded to Jadzia: “Then we shouldn’t waste any more time and hurry up.”

A little disappointed, Julian watcher her elegantly get up on the horse and trot ahead with the compass in her hand. He turned briefly to Thomas, who smiled at him innocently, and then slowly edged his horse forward.  
Maybe he could at least imagine that the weight behind him was, in fact, Jadzia and not his mentor, who eventually fell asleep during the ride and started drooling on his shoulder.

Well, with a lot of imagination.

* * *

Before Quark closed the shutters of the last window, he looked out once more into the dark street, hoping for a sign.  
It was long after midnight, the last guests had staggered out of his tavern and he was all alone.  
He had been able to distract himself with his business al evening, but now he was clearly aware of the silence of the taproom.  
It boomed in his sensitive ears and sneaked into his brain.  
At this time they should have been back long ago, caked with dirt, tired and exhausted, but at least back here in their home. Their pockets full of loot and easy profit.  
Well, easy at least for him.

He tried to convince himself that the silence was only nerve-wracking because it meant that if the two of them didn’t show up soon, he wouldn’t be making any extra gold. And not because it also meant that the two of them might have been lying dead in a ditch for the whole evening.  
He nervously turned away from the now-closed window and turned to his till. He knew that the smell, the feeling, the sound of fresh gold would calm him down.

At least for a short time.

So he sat down on a chair behind the bar and counted the coins. Je let them slide gently through his nimble fingers, felt every rise on his skin and enjoyed the ringing noise when they landed in his leather pouch.  
But when he was done, there was still only silence and emptiness. And the feeling of guilt. So he looked again for a new task.

Almost lost in thought, he pushed a small cupboard out of an alcove behind the bar and leaned towards the now open gap behind it. He briefly swept over the exposed stone wall until he found the right rock, pulled it out of its holding without haste and then looked at the exposed hole.  
Inside was a thick leather-wrapped book and several gold bars next to it. Quark took the book, put the stone back in its place and pushed the closet into the alcove.   
He then filled a small jug with Lorma, his favorite drink and climbed the stairs to the first floor, where his family’s accommodation was.  
  
If he had hoped to escape the silence in the taproom, he had failed, since he had only brought himself into another even more uncomfortable situation.  
When he entered the living room, he saw a stack of Nog’s borrowed books at the dining table, which the young boy had gotten from some human child. Quark could still remember the discussion this morning and his nephew’s indignant voice echoed in his head.  
Oh, how he missed them.  
  
On the way to his bedroom, he almost tripped over one of Rom’s shoes, swearing he kicked it aside.  
When he got to his room, he threw the business book on the bed unceremoniously and changed into one of his cozy pajamas, getting grumpy when he realized that it was one of Rom’s.  
“Arghhh!”  
He threw his hands over his head and angrily took a sip of Lorma.  
The warmth of the drink went straight to his stomach, calmed him a little and made him pleasantly tired. Still, he couldn’t get rid of the bad feeling that had been chasing him all evening and he – figurately – pounced on the chance of burying himself into his business deals.

When he had made himself comfortable in his warm, fluffy blanket, he opened the book and started entering the lasts changes and deals.

Suddenly however his earlobes started to itch.

Oh oh, he knew that feeling.

… Where was he?

He hastily threw back his blankets and was about to get out of the bed when something small and fluffy suddenly landed on his mattress and reproachfully squeaked at him. To his horror, he watched the rat transform into a full-grown man with a very grim expression on his face. He knew from experience that he was the reason for the bad mood of his counterpart.  
“Quark.”

Under normal circumstances, the Ferengi might have been happy to drive the unfriendly man to the extreme until he would take on that particular undertone in his grumble.

Under normal circumstances, he would face him in one of his carefully selected ensembles and smile triumphantly at him with glittering sharp teeth.

So under normal circumstances, he was NOT wearing his brother’s old, extremely comfortable, but worn-out pajamas and no Lorma mustache on his upper lip.

“Um, …good evening, Profoss Odo,” he said tightly.  
The shapeshifter had changed from his rat shape to his human one, still remaining on all fours, and continued to heave himself out of bed to maintain his dignity. He now looked down on the unsettled Quark from there.  
He had to admit that he greatly enjoyed seeing the flustered Ferengi this way and so he made a mental note to surprise Quark more often.  
But his anger at the annoying bartender regained the upper hand and he gripped the bedpost with his right hand, allowing him to slowly bend over Quark.

“The account book. If I may.”

The deep hum in Odo’s voice wandered through Quark like a small earthquake and a small part in his brain was amazed at the incredible feeling that this voice triggered in him.  
The much louder part, however, suddenly cried out when he realized that if Odo got his hands on this book, he could possibly tear his carefully crafted business apart.  
“No way! Look at this, me, a poor, honest citizen getting attacked by a representative of the public security in my own home, by the very institution that is supposed to protect me. Without suspicion, I may add, because as everyone knows, I abide by the rules of our civilized society.”

As he put forth his defense to Odo, he slowly shuffled towards the opposite direction on his bed, hoping to escape the range of Odo’s long arms.  
His left hand carefully sneaked between the pages he had previously bookmarked and clung tightly to them.  
Odo, on the other hand, rolled his eyes in exasperation over the theatrical and naturally lying Quark, circled the bed and put his hand on the other side of the Ferengi.

“Either you give me the book voluntarily now or I WILL take it from you.”

His fingers dug lightly into Quark’s shoulder as he said this and his intense gaze bore into that of his counterpart. They faced each other for a few seconds, when Odo noticed how incredibly fluffy Quark’s pajamas were and Quark noticed how distracted Odo was.

With a “no way!”, Quark broke free and used Odo’s surprise combined with the momentum from his sudden jerk to tear the previously grabbed sheets out of the book. In the ensuing quarrel, Odo didn’t even notice that the Ferengi quickly hid them under his shirt.  
Quark fought heroically (with petty biting and pinching), against the towering Odo above him, but to no avail, and finally the warm body of a huge, elongated worm wrapped around him – certainly one of Odo’s animal species that Quark had never seen before – and he couldn’t move anymore.  
He tried desperately to fight the animal, but its body only twisted around him even more, until he could only dream about lifting a finger.  
The huge scaly something swayed its head triumphantly for a moment before the pressure suddenly ceased and Quark plopped back onto his bed astride.  
A now humanoid Odo smugly evened out his uniform, Quark’s business book in his left hand and grunted happily.

The confused look on Quark’s face was worth the effort of the evening and Odo promised himself never to forget that moment. (The feeling of the very warm body between his snake’s body was stored somewhere in his subconscious.)

He bowed slightly in a mocking way before he transformed himself into an owl and flew away through the window with the book in his claws.  
When Quark had recovered from the moment, he muttered something about arbitrary power and the carefully pulled the torn pages out of his pajamas.  
With a queasy feeling, he realized that his clothes still contained some of the coolness that Odo had radiated in his worm form. What scared him even more, that he didn’t think it was half that bad.

“Huh”.

Then he shook his head and pushed the coming thoughts away again to devote himself to the individual pages in his hand.  
  
Odo would find out very quickly that they were missing from the book and would probably come back the very same night, to haunt him again. So Quark sullenly parted from the pages and threw them into the fire of his chimney, sure that they would burn there beyond recognition.  
He actually wanted to wait until the fire had completely burned down, but a loud shout from the direction of the main courtyard distracted his attention.  
His heart leaped a little.  
“Well, it took them long enough.”

He hurriedly changed and almost stumbled down the stairs in his haste.  
His ego, however, couldn’t allow him to ever let his relief show when his useless brother would be standing in front of him. Rom and Nog were long overdue, it all took time and the two shouldn’t get any wrong thought about him being anything else but angry at them.

* * *

Odo had actually been on his way back to Quark, ready to squeeze the missing pages out of him, when he flew past the gate and saw several small figures approaching the wall. With a slight stab, he noticed that there where three tall humanoids on horses. No Ferengi-sized Pony far and wide.  
After he landed in the entrance courtyard, everything went by very quickly. The scouts noticed the arrivals and the gate was hurriedly hoisted to finally save them from the dark night.  
Someone ran to inform the city council and it didn’t take long for Kira and Sisko to arrive. The other three seemed to delay themselves.  
Odo was sad to see Kira scour the newcomers and her expression hardened when she realized that no Bajoran priest was waiting for her.

He made a mental note to drop by her later.  
  
For now, however, he had to do his job as Profoss and ensure the safety of the city.  
A few of his employees were already here and stood behind him. Together they approached the strangers to prevent them from entering the city further. You never knew what these people brought with them. Or underhanded intentions.  
An elderly man with a plague mask on his back shakily got off one of the horses and was already on his way to Odo. His companion, a younger man with short curly hair, did not lift his long limbs off the horse quite as successful but instead got tangled up in the stirrups, whereupon the third of the party hurried over to help him with a laugh.  
  
“Greetings! My name is Thomas Rhye, my companion and I are here at the request of the Councilmen Sisko.”  
The older man pointed at the advancing captain and shortly afterward pulled out a letter from his pocket, which was adorned with the broken seal of the city’s coat of arms.  
So this was the much-advertised doctor who had made the long trip to Tiefall to replace the man who had died a few months ago and who had previously cared for Sisko’s team.

Odo took another skeptical look at the man’s clothes.

So the rumors were true. A former plague doctor who had banished residents to their homes in some distant city and left them there to die, hiding himself away behind that ridiculous bird mask.  
The crooked glasses on his nose had already been cracked several times and were held together by a dirty linen band in the middle.  
The clothes stand after the long journey, but apart from that he didn’t make a well-groomed impression either.  
Still, Odo couldn’t help but notice that he had a friendly, but decisive aura. A mixture of Kira and Sisko, only dirty.  
After examining the visitor closely, he stepped aside and let him talk to Sisko.

“Doctor Rhye! Nice that you’re finally here.”  
Sisko gently held out his hand to the man and carefully steered him towards Kira, away from the others.  
The Bajoran leaned forward energetically: “Doctor, before we discuss anything else with you, I have to ask if you heard anything about a Bajoran cleansing group on your way from Fernhaven.”

Rhye eyed the young woman in front of him curiously, but the turned away thoughtfully.  
“We had just arrived at Fernhaven when we heard rumors of a Bajoran concession. Doctor Bashir was very excited and we wanted to hurry back on track to catch up to them.  
But we must have taken a different path since we never reached them.”  
Guiltily he thought that even then he wasn’t really sure whether they were on the right road at all.  
  
The Bajoran next to the captain made an angry face and quickly whirled around to face Sisko.  
However, he had already expected that reaction. “Keep preparing your team, Major. We’re leaving tomorrow.”

* * *

Julian hadn’t really gotten a chance to see much of the Captain yet.  
After Thomas spoke to him and the angry Bajoran, Sisko approached Julian briefly, shook his hand and then grabbed Dax.  
She was gone so quickly that he couldn’t even wish her a good night.  
The humanoid with the undefined facial features gave him a short nod and then sent two guards in his direction to question him about his past illnesses.

After the cumbersome security procedure was over, they were about to head towards the city center when a small, stooped figure came running towards them.  
When this shadow arrived in the light of the lanterns, Julian realized that it was a Ferengi.  
His big, bat-like ears rocked up and down with every movement, the tips of the huge ear cups lightly hairy and long enough to reach over his shoulder.  
Julian had only ever read about this species in his anatomy books.

As the little figure came to a halt in front of them, he mentally went through some of the relevant anatomical details about Ferengis that still ghosted around in his head.  
  
“Good evening, gentleman! I arrived a little late to greet you, but could it be that I have missed the two Ferengi who came through the gate earlier?”  
 _The current thesis states that Ferengi not only use their distinctive brain for fast calculations but also have an above-average capacity for names, faces, and peculiarities._

The guard next to Bashir mumbled something about missing Ferengis.  
“Oh well, I can see that, but – Casper, was it? – see Casper, my brother and his nephew should have arrived a long time ago.”  
 _Ferengi mostly live underground, which is why their eyes aren’t the best, but their ears have a marvelous sensitivity to noise._

“Ah, I’m sorry, I must have missed your name?” With that Quark turned to Doctor Bashir.  
There was a glint in his eyes that made Julian feel like a well-fitted wallet.  
“Eh, yes! I mean, no I haven’t introduced myself yet.” He held out his hand. “My name is Julian Bashir. I’m the one or ONE of the new doctors here.”

Without hesitation, the Ferengi took his hand and squeezed hard.  
“Quark is the name. I serve a part of the city with the finest food and most tasty spirits at reasonable prices down in my tavern.”

He gave Bashir a big grin and bowed slightly.  
 _Although Ferengi are generally known as greedy and possessive by the general public, they rarely appear alone._

You said, that you are waiting for two more Ferengi?” Bashir asked curiously, which was enough for Quark to start a minute-long lamentation.  
Casper, the guard, seemed to collapse into himself, a little bit defeated.

Quark explained to them that his brother and nephew were on their way to meet a dealer to buy a few second-hand goods. However, they still hadn’t returned, and after all the reports of missing people lately, Quark was worried about his relatives. Or – as Julian heard earlier – the goods they might have had with them.  
At the heart of the embellishments, however, was Quark’s innocence in this whole situation and Julian couldn’t help but strongly doubt this part of the story.  
The little that was known about Ferengis indicated a species that had not yet discovered the concept of truth.  
(On second thought, he came to the conclusion that that didn’t make Ferengi any different from the human populace and again he felt ashamed about his jumping to quick conclusions.)

However, when Quark realized that the two could not help him, he turned away, disheartened.  
The pomp and self-confidence that he had just shown seemed to have evaporated like fog.

Julian watched sympathetically as the Ferengi shuffled away when he remembered something.  
“Quark! Wait!”  
He hurried after the Ferengi and put his hand softheartedly on his shoulder.  
“We met another traveler on the way, maybe she heard about other Ferengi?”

A little tremor went through Quark’s ears and he straightened up to look Bashir in the eyes gratefully.  
“You don’t – by chance- know where I can find this traveler by chance?”  
“Her name is Jadzia Dax. She walked away with the captain and … an angry Bajoran.”  
“Ah, excellent! I know exactly where I need to go then. Follow me!”

Without paying attention to Julian, quark took the lead and plunged into the city’s dark streets, while Casper remained confused at his lonely post.

* * *

Odo had detached himself a bit from captain Sisko and his companions and was now walking alongside Kira.  
He could figuratively absorb her anger, disappointment and worry through his synthetic skin.

“I told him. I told him that this trip was too dangerous and yet he didn’t want to listen to me. And now we have a problem. If Bareil doesn’t come back from this trip, the balance of the Vedek Assembly will shift, and Kai Winn could use that to take a more conservative route again.”  
Odo nodded understandingly and gave a thoughtful hum as Kira continued to speak.  
"She sees the whole cooperation we have with the humans as a waste of time and recourses. And yet we can already see that Tiefall was a great success.”

Odo agreed: “As chaotic as Tiefall may seem, it is safe in comparison to the outside world. Even if the crime rate increases with the number of residents, all in all, it remains low.”  
Kira chimed in again: “That’s right! Tiefall also seems to be a very peaceful city, even though so many different cultures and peoples clash here.”

  
“With exceptions.”, grumbled the shapeshifter and finally a small smile stole itself on Kira’s face.  
“These exceptions almost seem like a welcome change from my viewpoint.”  
Odo snorted indignantly and looked at Kira with a slightly shocked look. That she would even consider something like that.

“Oh Odo! Since Quark opened his tavern in the city, I see you in newer transformations every day. I don’t even know a large part of the animals you change into. You seem to enjoy having an adversary who challenges you a bit.”  
“This is NOT Quark’s merit!” Odo echoed.

“What is not my merit?”

Kira and Odo both looked over in surprise to where they suspected the voice to be coming from, and a second later the aforementioned Quark stepped out of the shadows of an alley to their left, followed by the long-legged man from earlier.  
Kira quickly recuperated from the sudden surprise and said: “What do you want this time?”  
“Yes, I’m wondering about that too. Shouldn’t you still have some … pages to hide?” Odo gave the Ferengi a challenging look, but the latter chose to ignore the tense atmosphere.

“I simply thought the city officials were always open to the problems of ordinary people.”  
“Simply.”, Odo snorted.

For some reason, Bashir found himself eager to open his mouth and his eyes met Kira’s as he spoke up.  
“My name is Doctor Julian Bashir! I came into town with Doctor Rhye.”

Kira and Odo only gave him a disinterested look.

“I told Quark earlier that maybe our companion, Jadzia Dax, might know something about his missing family’s whereabouts. He hoped that they would be back in town today.”  
Now Odo seemed to find the whole ordeal a tad more interesting: “Nog and Rom are overdue?”

Even Kira looked skeptical now. Spending the night out of town was no fun.

Quark quickly told them the same story he had previously told Julian and Casper, and although Julian noticed Odo raising his non-existent eyebrows warily, the shapeshifter seemed to be taking Quark’s missing family rather serious.  
After the Ferengi finished talking, Odo approached him.

“I don’t believe your little story about the dealer” – Quark started to protest, but Odo only raised his hand imperiously and continued – “but there is no question, that Nog and Rom are out there somewhere and nobody heard from then in a while. We have to help them immediately.”  
There was a short silence between the two of them and Kira almost felt uncomfortable, when she interrupted it.

“The city council has scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss whether we can send a search team out to find the other missing travelers. This should provide one more reason to leave as early as possible.”  
Without further ado, the three hurried off to the assembly hall and Julian had no choice but to tun after them.

However, when he wanted to start a conversation with the Major, she cut him off, with a short “Not now, Doctor.”

* * *

He continued to sink into the cold darkness below.  
Everything hurt.  
Those things were all around him, cracking bones and crushing spines.  
How much longer did he need to endure this torture?  
How long till the sun finally rose?

* * *

Julian meandered around the small bunch of Bajorans at the entrance, nervous that he would lose sight of the others quickly.  
He had just seen Quark’s ears in the crowds, but the bodies around him had swallowed the Ferengi and the other two only a moment after.  
Where were they?

As if out of nowhere suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder and he had to stop himself to not flinch in shock.  
“Julian, there you are!” Thomas rough voice was barely audible over the busy noises around him.  
“I’m so sorry, I lost sight of you earlier! But you showed up here at just the right time.”  
The older man excitedly pushed Julian deeper into the building, past the waiting citizens and a tired-looking guard who controlled the entrance to the main hall.

As they stepped through the double doors, the room opened into a low roundel, with a semi-circular table surrounded by six chairs at the far end of it.  
In front of it was a rather ordinary small desk where, as Julian assumed, the pleadings were usually made.  
At this moment, however, it was empty.  
In addition to this, there were two smaller tables for various participants and rows of seats were placed behind them to accommodate the public.

Thomas hurriedly maneuvered himself and Julian to the front row seats, where Quark had already taken a seat. Kira and Odo had sat down at the big table with the other city councilors, seemingly waiting on Thomas to settle down.  
With a nod, Captain Sisko gestured for the guard at the entrance to close the big wooden doors and shortly thereafter Kira’s voice echoed inside the chamber.

“At the advice of City Counsellor Sisko we waited for the doctors to arrive” – she nodded towards Julian and Thomas – “to find out, whether the had heard anything about Vedek Bareil and his group on their trip.   
However, the Vedek seems to have been swallowed up the swamps. As far as we know, he still reached Fernhaven, but after that, no one else saw him. As discussed, we, the Bajorans, will now start looking for him. As quickly as possible.”

The last sentence she addressed to a tiredly blinking Nausicaaan on her left, who now flinched under her gaze.

Hoping to soothe the situation a bit, Sisko rose from his seat and continued talking.   
“As previously discussed, some of my men are currently helping with the preparations for the search. We should be done with everything tomorrow afternoon, but we still need a medical specialist for the company.”  
His eyes fell on Thomas, but when the Captain spoke again, he did not address the older doctor.

“Doctor Bashir.” Julian excitedly looked back at the Counsellor.  
“At Doctor Rhye’s advice, I would like to ask you to accompany us on this mission. Your service hasn’t started yet, but –“

“Don’t worry, Captain!” Julian interspersed cockily. “I am the right person for the job.”

“Doctor, as much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, you don’t know anything yet about the dangers of these valleys or what awaits you on this search.”  
But Julian did not allow himself to be scared by this.

“When I came here with Doctor Rhye, I knew it could be dangerous. As a doctor, I can’t always be where it is safest for me, especially when the actual work is here. Also, I can’t hide inside the city while the real adventure is happening outside."  
Julian didn’t feel like the Captain was taking him very seriously.  
He could see in his eyes how little he thought of him. The Bajoran, Kira, could only shake her head at the Doctor’s naivety.

“Listen, Captain, please. Doctor Rhye has had a lot of experience and can use his huge wealth of knowledge to help the people in the city. On the other hand, I am much easier to replace and have hardly any experience in dangerous situations, which I should acquire at some point. It would make more sense to take me with you.”

To the right-hand side of the Captain, an elderly Vulcan rose with interest.  
“Although this young human noticeably lacks experience and … restraint, his arguments are logically justifiable. The much greater damage to the city would be the loss of Doctor Rhye. To reject him would be unwise in the current situation.”

The other councilors nodded in agreement and Sisko sat down thoughtfully.

But Kira wasn’t quite finished with the Doctor.  
Her brown eyes figuratively pierced through Julian and he felt like he was shrinking under her energetic gaze.  
“Listen, Doctor Bashir! This is NOT an adventure that you can dish up to your colleagues like a story. There are several lives at stake, and we cannot afford to waste time because of your naivety. If you accompany us, you will listen exactly to what I tell you. No unnecessary questions or distractions.  
A mistake can cost not only you but us as well, so think carefully about whether you’re up to the task.”

A short silence followed her monologue.

She was right. It only took one thoughtless act, one mistake at the wrong moment, and the mission was a failure. Vedek Bareil and both Ferengis would be lost and all because of him.

When Thomas felt Julian’s insecurity, he cleared his throat and winked at him encouragingly.  
If he hadn’t believed in Julian, he would have never suggested him for the mission, never would have said a good word about him to Sisko.  
If he, who had known Julian and his impulsiveness for years, thought Julian was ready, the young doctor should not be disturbed by the opinion of strangers.

Nevertheless, it took him a small while to talk himself back into enough self-confidence under Kira’s angry presence.

“Major, I am clearly aware of the explosive situation. But I am just as aware of my skills as a doctor and although I may still lack the experience of my colleague, I am no longer a child. You need a doctor for this mission and that is me.  
So let me come with you.”

He persisted until Kira looked away from him and turned to Sisko.  
The Captain nodded.

“Fine doctor.”  
A thin, mean grin spread across her face. “But should you come up with the idea of trying something stupid on this journey, you will wish you never went to Tiefall.”

**Author's Note:**

> So first off, this fic is not beta-read and, as you may already suspect, English is not my first language, so I have to ask for a bit of patience with me.  
> I'm not sure yet where exactly this is going since I already am planning to heavily rewrite the synopsis I already worked on, but let's just see.  
> Anyway, thank you for reading the first chapter of my first ever Star Trek fanfiction (and overall first fanfiction in over a decade).  
> I'm always excited about your opinions and your critique, so please feel free to say how you felt about this head on.


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